Sensex closes for an hour, looses 1716 points

New Delhi, Jan 22 : The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) continued its downward spiral today and trading was suspended for an hour, as the markets hit the 10 per cent lower circuit on opening bell.

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 721 points at 16,884 on Tuesday morning. The index is now down 9.8 percent (1,716 points) at 15,889.

The NSE Nifty has crashed over 12 percent (630 points) to 4,578.

ANI